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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel arrests top Waqf officials in Jerusalem in overnight raid
2019-02-24
[Aljazeera] Israeli police have arrested the head of the Islamic authority that oversees Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem following recent protests, an official from the authority said.

Religious Endowments Authority (Al Waqf) director Sheikh Abdul Azim Salhab was arrested early on Sunday as part of an overnight raid carried out by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, Mahdi Abdelhadi, a senior member of Al Waqf, said.

At least 13 other Palestinians have also been arrested, including Salhab's deputy, according to Maan news agency.

Al Waqf officials told Israeli daily Haaretz that Salhab's arrest was unusual.

"He's the most senior Jordanian figure in the [Palestinian] territories. 20 years ago [if] the police wanted to interrogate the mufti, they would call and invite him, but coming to a 75-year-old's home like that at 5am is unacceptable," the official was quoted as saying.
Posted by:Besoeker

#2  From an updated version of the article:

Israeli police confirmed the arrest on Sunday, and the Waqf later said police had released Salhab and prohibited him from entering the site for a week.

Israel just reopened part of the facility (the Golden Gate, also known as the Gate of Mercy) that had been locked off since 2003 because Hamas-linked staff were storing weapons and personnel there, and using it as a base to excavate and destroy archeological evidence of the Jewish presence on the Temple Mount going back to First Temple times.

From an article today on the subject from the Times of Israel:

The Waqf has seen a new infusion of activists recently as Jordan, its longtime patron and overseer, moved earlier this month to share control with local Jerusalem Palestinian leaders.

In mid-February, Jordan enlarged the Waqf’s council from 11 members to 18. For the first time, Palestinian Authority officials and religious leaders were installed in the body, which has historically been made up of individuals close to the Jordanian monarchy.

The Waqf council’s new membership reflects that shift. The new members include PA officials Hatem Abdel Kader and the PA’s governor in Jerusalem, Adnan al-Husayn; religious leaders Akrama Sabri, considered close to Turkey’s ruling AKP party, and the Mufti of Jerusalem Muhammad Hussein; and the president of Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem, Imad Abu Kishk.
Posted by: trailing wife   2019-02-24 16:02  

#1  Stirring up crap. That man is useless. I don't want him.
Send him away.
Posted by: newc   2019-02-24 03:15  

00:00